In general, a fabrication method for a semiconductor device is carried out by a series of processing steps, in which a photoresist is applied to a semiconductor wafer or an FPD as a substrate (hereinafter, referred to as a wafer), a circuit pattern is size-reduced and transferred to the photoresist by photolithography techniques, the photoresist is developed, and then the photoresist is removed from the wafer.
In the processing steps, it is known that a substrate processing apparatus immerses the wafer of a vertical state in processing liquid, e.g., a processing tank containing chemical liquid by employing a carrying means for vertically holding a wafer with a plurality of holders, and discharging rinse liquid toward the surface of the wafer.
In such a conventional substrate processing apparatus, the carrying means includes a lower holder for holding the bottom portion of the substrate, and a couple of left/right upper holders for holding the bottom outer edges of the substrate when the substrate is turned over. The lower holder includes a V-shaped groove for directly holding the bottom portion of the wafer, and the upper holder includes a roughly Y-shaped turn-over prevention groove for preventing the turn-over of the wafer. For example, refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 10-284459 (FIGS. 4, 8, 9, and 10).
According to the substrate processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 10-284459, as configured above, the wafer vertically held by the carrying means is immersed in processing liquid, e.g., a processing tank containing chemical liquid, and the surface treatment of the wafer is carried out by discharging rinse liquid toward the surface of the wafer within the processing tank. Then, the wafer vertically held by the carrying means is pulled up from the processing tank and is carried into a drying chamber. Then, drying gas, e.g., nitrogen (N2) gas, is supplied into the drying chamber to perform a drying process.